I, like most people, want things done right, and thus resort to doing them myself. However, what's the point in creating an information network if I personally go looking into things? Then again, I needed arms, so many more arms, a single fletcher wasn’t going to do me much good.

Distracting myself, I stepped upon a path of s hovering a fraction of an inch above the ground. Not that it helped, I still had plenty of time to think about whatever disciple was trying to acquire Terdri for his own. It didn’t even have anything to do with me or Tagalong Girl. I just felt a mighty urge to interfere.

That’s just Alric, Tagalong Girl’s mysterious tutor, prodigal mage in a land of Oouei. Helpful and respectful to others, but more than willing to cause trouble for those who deserve it? Is that really the best way to demonstrate a sort of heroism to Tagalong Girl? Of course a part of me knew that was just a side benefit to alleviating my itchy fingers.

“Hmmm.”

To this point, none of the other ‘students’ I’d taken in had been actual children. I never felt worried about pressuring them too much. Allowing for a naturally occuring period of growth as opposed to one I could resolve narratively, or through game-system assisted powerleveling tried my patience.

Didn’t that just make it all the more important that I didn’t take this too lightly?

Moving between districts, I observed the ligneous opulence further. What could that disciple be planning here? Waterwheels disengaged from their mills continued in their pointless circles, but other than fishing, there weren’t any resources that made this place special.

Its use as a trade route? According to Bratcha ships only came through en masse three times a year, and otherwise the docks didn’t see too much use. After all, this river really was too wide and fast. On top of the fact that it flowed with the wind, you couldn’t even sail upstream, then there was a lack of engines— which actually felt stranger the more mechanical finesse I saw society exhibit.

In any case, this meant travel along the waterways generally only went downstream. So what if hypothetically there were unrecognized settlements along the river unnoticed by the official church? It would be well within the confines of Tian Meng should an ambitious disciple attempt to monopolize their resources.

Wanting to play a little game of sneaking into the buildings near the riverside was futile— sneaking implied there would be something to avoid. Nearly every building was left totally abandoned without a hint of security. Perhaps local snakeheads still feared dragons, no backbone at all, a criminal organization should be willing to eat some losses to maintain at least some pride when shifting owners.

Moving in and out, while no drydocks were hidden away, several Soul Strands discovered warehouses much fuller than they should have been. Impromptu food silos might have made sense. I tittered with glee, opening up a crate to confirm with my own eyes.

Scores of spearheads, stacks of splint mail, and several sealed casks(shelf-stable healing ointments no doubt). Bows, arrows, materials for heavy repairs, ah, this was so much more interesting than grifting taxes. This certainly wasn’t a plan for rebellion though, the materials looked like they were destined for conscripts. Even the most idiotic disciple knew the scale of the Church and how futile a rebellion with the common man would go.

A siege? From the goblins? Or perhaps elves? Either way, if the disciple knew, why wouldn’t he contact the church? Did he run to this isolated patch of land to defend it away from the real fighting?

At least now I had a better idea what to tell my network to look out for. Satisfied with the event I dug up, I went back to recruiting. Bratcha would become the head of my Terdri branch, so he warranted some discussion, but the other various orphans and dispossessed held even less interesting qualities. I just spent the time with each to build a slight rapport and understand where to place them better.

The Green Huntsman Guild— 42 members total including myself and Bratcha. It would be wasteful and highly unlikely for me to succeed in funding everyone’s previous occupations to where they could start anew here. Instead, it wouldn’t be hard for them to survive with a little information on where certain beasts tended to gather. In addition to an upfront payment, the group already was excited for a brighter future.

All my returns from this investment would be taking place in the undefined future as well, so I wasn’t feeling particularly satisfied upon my return to the inn. Convincing 40 people(and scouting out a few rejects) took over five hours, so Ria and Tagalong Girl were dead asleep upon my return.

Ria sat upright against the headboard, falling asleep in the middle of a conversation again no doubt. With half a dozen s I eased her down into the bed. Her chromatic skin had yet to show any sign of bed sores—- of course my thoughts to test her skin’s durability remained merely thoughts. Cat repeatedly elucidated how the nature of pain differed in pre-dive game societies.

Maybe if she exhibited some of Tagalong Girl’s unyielding spirit… no it’s not a good look even if Ria could handle it. My curiosity remained unabated in this field as well.

Still unwilling to sleep near Ria, Tagalong Girl once again took to the floor with a sleeping bag. Snug as a bug in a rug, the chill in the air would presumably intensify as winter deepened, then there were the oft-mentioned rainstorms. I’d fixed up one set of clothes to her size, but I might as well prepare the rest now.

Pulling out my sewing kit from Underworld of Armok(in actuality meant to represent the flesh-stitching and corpsecrafting aspects of necromancy) I shied away from using the thread it came with, instead using an abundance of threads I’d naturally purchased from villages on our travels. The needle itself was not a crude Derrish craft however, and while I didn’t wish to push its limits, it scratched one of my many blades from this world without bending.

The devs didn’t want to make and name that many lore-friendly materials. With many people reaching one or two thousand levels, that would be over 20 materials for a 100 level range. Even a half-hearted strength build would increase by 500, or 50 times that of a ‘normal human’s’ strength. An unassuming ‘iron’ dagger in Underworld was therefore akin to a superalloy in real world physicality.

If I used threads from a higher level realm like that to stitch together a regular outfit, our clothes and bones would likely turn to dust before leaving behind a thin thread. How extraordinarily wasteful would that be of something I can’t replenish?

Cheerfully sewing the night away, I tailored four more sets of clothing for Tagalong Girl, as well as one for Ria. was also much gentler on cleaning fabrics, not to mention we didn’t need to actually remove clothing for me to wash it; overall we didn’t need nearly that much in the way of apparel.

Just something to occupy my hands as I continued mentally practicing spells.

Ria stirred first, Tagalong Girl regularly rose just before the sun, but the older lass kept irregular hours. Luckily she did seem to be calming down in earnest about our travels, not that programming one of my various undead to wake me if she moved more than 10 meters was particularly troubling.

“What’s for dinner?” Speech not slurred, albeit still slow, and a little confused(naturally I hadn’t left before making sure the two had eaten at least one helping of fish and bread)

“It’s too early for breakfast. Wait a bit for *Tagalong Girl* to wake up.”

“I’m hungry now. Don’t I need energy?”

“That is true. But only some of the trail ration grade foods. I’m not letting you eat any of the good stuff on your own.”

At least one of them was willing to speak out. Hopefully Ria assimilated a passion for actually becoming stronger. Wanting something to change, but not doing anything to precipitate it… tsk, she was also rather young, I didn’t want to be too judgemental.

Ria quietly(without speaking at least) ate some nuts and a bit of cheese.Absentmindedly she stared at the corner, avoiding eye contact.

“Do you have any hopes for what will come after?” There was a general idea of who she was, but I didn’t know Ria, not really. “*Tagalong Girl* has a slightly abstract desire, but she is reaching for it with all she’s got.”

“I just wanted to help out at home.”

“So there wasn’t anything. You’re content with living.”

“I don’t know where you came from. How can you talk about what I hope for?”

“‘More fundamental than taxes, all sentient beings have desire.’ Ultimately all things are the same that way. At minimum, you desire to live, and eat to see tomorrow. Whatever you ‘truly’ wish for, it’s not fundamentally different than wanting an object, a feeling, or state of being. Understanding is simply a matter of accepting, it’s not difficult to do.” I shrugged, taking out a small stone to roll about in my hands. Ria hadn’t been exposed to many ideas in her life, and thus was weak to sophistry. Not that my words were untrue, but to someone who wanted to believe in helping others, understanding was a core part of that.

In essence, it was a statement so all encompassing that whatever she thought she could gain from it would naturally just be a feeling she already had.

“I just— I can’t go home like this. But I can’t keep…”

“Alright, one sweet if you can keep it together.” More of a wretched taffy than an actual candy, I placed a product of wilderness confectionery into her hand. “Lots of people head out on journeys they don’t want to, or even don’t mean to. It’s not a matter of abandoning your past. Everyone’s alive and well back home, and you're not going to be in any danger while I’m here.”

“How can I know? How can they know? Not knowing is terrible, even my brother, who knows what’s happened to him, even though he left, dad and I still want to know… but nothing.”

“I didn’t just spring up out of a hole in the ground.” At least not originally. I wonder how transmigrators physically came into being. “As far as I’m aware, my family is still alive and well… somewhere. And we are, were? Close, it’s not like we had loose ties. My best friend Cat too, he’s definitely still alive. I’d be unsurprised to run into him again, but there’s really no telling if fate will bring us together again, or that casual ‘see you later’ was our last. You can’t let people be boundaries in living your own life.”

“You don’t understand. You’re not really a person.”

“Hahaha, Cat’s said the same thing on multiple occasions. But like I said, it doesn’t matter. Human or abominable freak that disgraces the idea of cognition, I too want things, thus I understand.”

“No. I don’t think you do.” Ria closed her eyes, lying back down. It seemed she’d done too much thinking here and needed to rest again. That was fine, she could have the last word, I had a better idea of her— her insecurities at least.

While waiting for my pupil to wake up, I considered the various ways I could work my various half-truths into a mysterious background. I’d hoped to simply remain a character untethered to the past, but history and personal anecdotes work wonders in some conversations. Nothing too concrete was said, plenty of wiggle room for whatever I wanted to be in this world.

So like a good master, I plotted a course for the growth of my disciple, and the well-being of my charge.

Bah, if you really want to be understood, explain yourself. Otherwise, just dance on the stage as you please. I could at least be content with Tagalong Girl trying to learn how.